Playing Today: Mega Man Powered Up, Spider-Man 3

First impressions go a long way with me. Mega Man Powered Up left quite a first impression, filling the portable void that Loco Roco had claimed for several weeks. This game is really fun, playful, silly, and still very much Mega Man. Instead of grinding away at the same bosses over and over until I beat them, the difficulty system lets me explore the game without suffering from frustration I remember. The voicework is great for a portable title and the art style is way above average. I can see this stuck in my PSP for weeks to come.

Spider-Man 3 is still an exercise in frustration. The camera is still broken and the gameplay is not remotely entertaining. I can imagine that most gamers would have returned this by now...

Playing Today: Spider-Man 3, The Bigs

Oh boy is Spider-Man 3 turning into a mixed bag. I really am enjoying the size of NYC. I like how I can seemingly traverse incredible distances without any loading screens. All until you have a boss battle way underground in a box about 10 feet by 20. Kraven is obnoxious and hearing the same four lines of dialogue over and over is saddening. Why do game makers let this kind of stuff pass? Do they realize that this does nothing but make their games seem disposable and unloved? And just as annoying - I can't save the game where I want to. I fought Kraven for 30 minutes, finally beating him, but I could not save because I now have to fight Lizard. Seriously, the saving of games has existed for at least 20 years now - get with the times.

I tried playing The Bigs on medium difficultly and had quite a different experience. Gone are the 15-0 games. The ramped up difficulty I don't mind... for this game. Playing on easy difficulty is a fun option that lets me play through without hours of less fun gameplay. After a play through, if I really like the game, I'll play it on Medium. Quite a good game and well worth a purchase.

Playing Today: Spider-Man 3

Played several games today but all were repeats not worth delving into. The only "new" game I played today was Spider-Man 3. I played this game months ago and have picked it up again because I need a new review and this is all I have. The game took me a minute or two to get reaccustomed to. I forgot the controls and the combos. Nevertheless, with those memories back in place I began to remember why I stopping playing this game: awful camera, jumpy buttons, and horrible voice acting. I guess it is kind of fun playing as Spidey, but not in this game. They stole the sandbox game type from much better games and went completely half-assed on the work. This game is similar to Superman Returns in that you really want to like it because of the characters involved but you want to hate it because of the piss-poor job of the developers. I'd rather have a cell shaded side scroller (like Alien Hominid) than another GTA clone. Still, I'll keep on playing because I have to finish it up for review.

Playing Today: The Bigs, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Another day with The Bigs and plenty more fun. This game is great fun but I'm starting to worry that it will be short lived. If I beat the rookie challenge will it unlock a real season mode with stats? If not, why not?! And, this game really needs some downloadable content. How about a second pinball arena? This is a great game but not perfect.

I picked up Pirates (still on my PSP) again for about 10 minutes. I don't like that I can't just save anywhere, it is kind of annoying. Still, I haven't delved in deep enough to really feel challenged. This game kind of reminds me of 300. Kind of.

Spidey tomorrow? Maybe.

Playing Today: The Bigs, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Another day with The Bigs and plenty more fun. This game is great fun but I'm starting to worry that it will be short lived. If I beat the rookie challenge will it unlock a real season mode with stats? If not, why not?! And, this game really needs some downloadable content. How about a second pinball arena? This is a great game but not perfect.

I picked up Pirates (still on my PSP) again for about 10 minutes. I don't like that I can't just save anywhere, it is kind of annoying. Still, I haven't delved in deep enough to really feel challenged. This game kind of reminds me of 300. Kind of.

Spidey tomorrow? Maybe.

Playing Today: Loco Roco, The Bigs, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

It is about time, right? Two new games played today and one game finished. Finally, Loco Roco is complete and I can still say it is the best game I've played on the PSP. In fact, it is one of the best games I've played ever. This bizarre platform-style game is easy to play and fun to explore. It is reminiscent of Mario Brother but without that silly Bowser guy. Having completed the game I can officially grade it an A.

I picked up The Bigs today and it was a worthwhile purchase. Basically, this is the NFL Blitz version of baseball. Only a few of the big name players are missing and the baseball parks are incredibly well designed. Some of the fielding and base-running is frustrating but maybe I just need to give it more time. And that I will.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End arrived in the mail today for my PSP. This looks a lot like the Pirates game I played on the DS but the controls seem better. The voicework is above average and the actors are hard to differentiate from the real actors. This might wind up being an above average game.

Playing Today: Ratatouille, Cloning Clyde, Loco Roco

This past weekend was pretty quiet for gaming. Nothing new in the mail and I stuck with the regulars: Texas Hold 'Em, Guitar Hero II, Forza Motorsport 2, Alien Hominid HD, Wii Sports, and Loco Roco. I finally finished Guitar Hero II on Medium difficulty and survived some atrocious playing. Free Bird is pretty tough and gets harder as you get further into the game. I can't see playing that much further into the game unless I'm hanging out with a bunch of people. My final grade on Guitar Hero II is a B+.

Ratatouille appeared in the ol' mailbox yesterday. To say that this game is going to be frustrating is an understatement. The graphics are above average (and way better than Shrek the Third) but the control is already problematic. The animations are well made but the rat just doesn't respond as I would have hoped. And the tightrope walking isn't very much fun either. And these are my thoughts just on the first level.

Thanks to the new Play & Win contest I will be playing Cloning Clyde multiplayer for the next two weeks. I've already earned all of the achievements for Clyde so this will be just for the contest. The multiplayer is fun at a very simple level and shouldn't eat up too much of my time.

I smell the end of Loco Roco... any day now. :(